Kylie Jenner, the youngest of the Kardashian clan, has become the youngest billionaire in the world, as declared by Forbes magazine. Having accumulated an estimated $1 billion by age 21, the magazine states that Jenner is “the youngest self-made billionaire, reaching a 10-figure fortune at a younger age than even Mark Zuckerberg (who was 23 when he hit that mark).”
The Kylie Cosmetics founder ranks No. 2,057 on a list of 2,153. Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates still hold the top two spots.
Last July, Forbes put Kylie Jenner on the cover of its America’s Richest Self-Made Women list, but controversy erupted over the magazine’s description of her as “self-made.”
Drawing parallels, some argue that Jenner couldn’t be self-made because she comes from a wealthy, well-known family while others say she simply latched onto the social-media coattails of her half-sister Kim Kardashian West.
But Forbes argues that it uses “self-made” to describe anyone who didn’t inherit his or her business or fortune. In 2015, Kylie set out on her own and launched the Kylie Lip Kit, a lipstick and lip liner kit that became the foundation of Kylie Cosmetics. Today, Jenner’s company is worth at least $900 million — and she owns 100 percent of it.
“It’s the power of social media,” Jenner told Forbes. “I had such a strong reach before I was able to start anything.”
Kylie boasts more than 175 million followers across Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter.
By: Maytinee Kramer
